Britain's Defence Secretary Michael Fallon has resigned from his post the day after he admitted to touching a female journalist's knee.
On Tuesday, a spokesperson for Sir Michael confirmed that Julia Hartley-Brewer had sharply rebuked him for putting his hand on her knee during a dinner in 2002.
In his resignation letter on Wednesday, Sir Michael said that his past behaviour had "fallen short" of standards required of Britain's armed forces.
"A number of allegations have surfaced about MPs in recent days, including some about my previous conduct," the statement read.
"Many of these have been false but I accept that in the past I have fallen below the high standards that we require of the Armed Forces that I have the honour to represent."
Ms Hartley-Brewer has described Sir Michael stepping down from his post as "ridiculous".
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Sir Michael's resignation comes as British Prime Minister Theresa May attempts to deal with the sexual harassment scandal engulfing Parliament over the past week.
The 65-year-old, who has served as Defence Secretary since 2014, has been seen as a staunch ally of Mrs May, who lost her party's majority in this year's general election.
His resignation will undoubtedly further weaken her already-shaky position as leader.
Another of her allies, Damian Green, the first secretary of state who went to university with the prime minister, is accused of making flirtatious passes at a Tory activist and journalist. He has denied the claims.
Mr Green is one of 40 politicians from the ruling Conservative Party, including some serving in the Cabinet, who have been accused of sexual harassment in a leaked internal spreadsheet first published on the Guido Fawkes website.
Earlier on Wednesday, Mrs May called other British political leaders to a summit to address the increasing allegations of sexual misconduct.
“I’ve written to all party leaders inviting them to a meeting early next week so we can discuss a common, transparent independent grievance procedure for all those working in parliament,” she said. “We have a duty to ensure that everyone coming here to contribute to public life is treated with respect.”
Britain's main opposition party Labour has also been implicated in the scandal. On Tuesday, a Labour activist said she was persuaded by senior figures not to report a rape by a fellow party member to the police.
The scandal in Westminster was triggered by the recent accusations of sexual assault made against Hollywood movie mogul Harvey Weinstein.
Following a successful social media campaign where women shared their experiences of sexual harassment and assault using the hashtag MeToo, the spotlight has suddenly fallen on misbehaving politicians in Britain.
Specs
Engine: Dual-motor all-wheel-drive electric
Range: Up to 610km
Power: 905hp
Torque: 985Nm
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Available: Now
COMPANY PROFILE
Name: Kumulus Water
Started: 2021
Founders: Iheb Triki and Mohamed Ali Abid
Based: Tunisia
Sector: Water technology
Number of staff: 22
Investment raised: $4 million
Off-roading in the UAE: How to checklist
BUNDESLIGA FIXTURES
Saturday (UAE kick-off times)
Cologne v Union Berlin (5.30pm)
Fortuna Dusseldorf v Borussia Dortmund (5.30pm)
Hertha Berlin v Eintracht Frankfurt (5.30pm)
Paderborn v Werder Bremen (5.30pm)
Wolfsburg v Freiburg (5.30pm)
Bayern Munich v Borussia Monchengladbach (8.30pm)
Sunday
Mainz v Augsburg (5.30pm)
Schalke v Bayer Leverkusen (8pm)
Recipe
Garlicky shrimp in olive oil
Gambas Al Ajillo
Preparation time: 5 to 10 minutes
Cooking time: 5 minutes
Serves 4
Ingredients
180ml extra virgin olive oil; 4 to 5 large cloves of garlic, minced or pureed (or 3 to 4 garlic scapes, roughly chopped); 1 or 2 small hot red chillies, dried (or ¼ teaspoon dried red chilli flakes); 400g raw prawns, deveined, heads removed and tails left intact; a generous splash of sweet chilli vinegar; sea salt flakes for seasoning; a small handful of fresh flat-leaf parsley, roughly chopped
Method
▶ Heat the oil in a terracotta dish or frying pan. Once the oil is sizzling hot, add the garlic and chilli, stirring continuously for about 10 seconds until golden and aromatic.
▶ Add a splash of sweet chilli vinegar and as it vigorously simmers, releasing perfumed aromas, add the prawns and cook, stirring a few times.
▶ Once the prawns turn pink, after 1 or 2 minutes of cooking, remove from the heat and season with sea salt flakes.
▶ Once the prawns are cool enough to eat, scatter with parsley and serve with small forks or toothpicks as the perfect sharing starter. Finish off with crusty bread to soak up all that flavour-infused olive oil.
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The specs
Engine: 4.0-litre V8
Power: 503hp at 6,000rpm
Torque: 685Nm at 2,000rpm
Transmission: 8-speed auto
Price: from Dh850,000
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Killing of Qassem Suleimani
The specs
- Engine: 3.9-litre twin-turbo V8
- Power: 640hp
- Torque: 760nm
- On sale: 2026
- Price: Not announced yet
Learn more about Qasr Al Hosn
In 2013, The National's History Project went beyond the walls to see what life was like living in Abu Dhabi's fabled fort:
ABU DHABI T10: DAY TWO
Bangla Tigers v Deccan Gladiators (3.30pm)
Delhi Bulls v Karnataka Tuskers (5.45pm)
Northern Warriors v Qalandars (8.00pm)
8 traditional Jamaican dishes to try at Kingston 21
- Trench Town Rock: Jamaican-style curry goat served in a pastry basket with a carrot and potato garnish
- Rock Steady Jerk Chicken: chicken marinated for 24 hours and slow-cooked on the grill
- Mento Oxtail: flavoured oxtail stewed for five hours with herbs
- Ackee and salt fish: the national dish of Jamaica makes for a hearty breakfast
- Jamaican porridge: another breakfast favourite, can be made with peanut, cornmeal, banana and plantain
- Jamaican beef patty: a pastry with ground beef filling
- Hellshire Pon di Beach: Fresh fish with pickles
- Out of Many: traditional sweet potato pudding
ONCE UPON A TIME IN GAZA
Starring: Nader Abd Alhay, Majd Eid, Ramzi Maqdisi
Directors: Tarzan and Arab Nasser
Rating: 4.5/5
UAE currency: the story behind the money in your pockets
Scoreline
Arsenal 0 Manchester City 3
- Agüero 18'
- Kompany 58'
- Silva 65'
SERIE A FIXTURES
Saturday (All UAE kick-off times)
Lecce v SPAL (6pm)
Bologna v Genoa (9pm)
Atlanta v Roma (11.45pm)
Sunday
Udinese v Hellas Verona (3.30pm)
Juventus v Brescia (6pm)
Sampdoria v Fiorentina (6pm)
Sassuolo v Parma (6pm)
Cagliari v Napoli (9pm)
Lazio v Inter Milan (11.45pm)
Monday
AC Milan v Torino (11.45pm)
Killing of Qassem Suleimani
Read more from Mina Al-Oraibi
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